Car dumper



- Nov. 10, 1936. R. w. KALTENBACH' 2,060,218

CAR DUMPER Filed March 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 10, 1936. R. KALTENBACH 2,060,218

CAR DUMPER Filed March 25, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to car dumpers, and particularly to those, which have a cradle onto which a railroad or similar car may be shunted and clamped in position, and thereafter tilted by means of a suitable cable hoisting mechanism.

The hoisting cables, which are used. on car dumpers of the raising and/or tilting type are subjected to such enormous stresses that it is necessary to use not only large cables, but also the best that can be obtained. Notwithstanding these precautionary measures, it has been necessary to replace hoisting cables at least once and often twice a season. This procedure is not only expensive from the viewpoint of cable maintenance, but it also entails a large expense in labor, and requires the dumper to be necessarily idle during the replacement period. Cable replacement therefore, costs many thousands of dollars.

An object of my invention is to provide an arrangement, whereby the life of the cables may be materially increased without necessitating the expenditure of large sums of money after the initial investment, and without requiring extensive changes to be made in the present equipment.

5 I have found that the most important contributing factor in the deterioration of cables is the relative movement between the strands, and that such wear can occur internally without any accompanying exterior manifestations. I have also found that such relative movement is occasioned by reversely bending the cable during its path of travel from the drum to the cradle. These reverse bends are caused by reason of the fact that the sheaves have been so positioned with respect to each other, that the cable bends in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions during each paying out and winding in movement. By means of my invention, the sheaves are so arranged that the cables are always 40 bent in the same direction during the winding in and paying out movement. I have found, when the sheaves are thus positioned that the life of the cable can be extended over several seasons.

The emolument is thus readily apparent.

4.5 In the drawings, Fig. 1 shows an end elevation of a car dumping apparatus, embodying my invention, while Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the cables which are used in connection with the car dumping operating 50 mechanism.

Referring now to the drawings, the car dumper comprises, as shown, a framelike tower structure in, which is arranged to support the various mechanisms of the car dumper. As shown in 55 full lines in Fig. 1, the frame supports a guideway l5 and a cradle 16, which is provided with rails ll onto which a car may be shunted. The arrangement is such that the cradle may be moved upwardly along the guide way l5 until a pin or pivot l8 carried by the cradle member l9 engages 5 a hook 20, carried by a frame member 2|, thus causing the vertical movement of the cradle to be stopped. Continued movement of the hoisting mechanism then causes the cradle to be rocked around the pivot to the position shown in dotted 10 lines on Fig. 1. As the car C and cradle are rocked, clamping levers pivoted to the cradle at 25 are brought into contact with the upper surfaces of the car by means of suitable cables 6! and counterweights 58, hereinafter to be more 15 fully described.

The present invention is concerned with the arrangement of cables and sheaves, which are used to elevate the cradle, and clamp the load in position thereon. These sheave arrangements are such that the cables are always bent or turned in the same direction, as they are being wound in or paid out. In other words, if a cable makes a clockwise turn around the first sheave or drum, it will make a clockwise turn around every other 25 sheave or drum. This eliminates an enormous amount of breakage of the wires which compose the strands of the cable, thus greatly increasing the life of it and decreasing the operating expense of the car dumper.

In Fig. 2, I have diagrammatically illustrated the weaving of the cables in accordance with the present invention. As shown, there are two hoisting or load-lifting cables 30, one end of each of which is secured to the tower or superstructure, as at 3|. Each extends downwardly, and is wrapped in a clockwise direction around a sheave 32 which is carried by a link 33 that is pivotally secured to the cradle, as at 34. From the sheaves 32, the cables extend upwardly as at 36, and pass in a clockwise direction around sheaves 31, from whence they extend horizontally as at 38, and pass clockwise over sheaves 39 which are supported by the superstructure. The cables are then turned in a clockwise direction around the sheaves 39 and are extended downwardly as at 40 and around sheaves 4|, which are carried by the cradle.

The sheaves A! are carried on the outer end of bars 42 which in turn are pivoted to the cradle adjacent its innermost end as at 43, so that when the load is raised, the bars rock about their pivots and permit the load to be tilted a maximum amount without interference between the cable stretches and the cradle. From the sheaves 4|, the cables pass upwardly as at 45, and extend in a clockwise direction around sheaves 46, which are carried by the superstructure and then extend in a horizontal direction, as at 4'! and pass clockwise around sheaves 48 which are carried by the superstructure. From these sheaves, they extend downwardly as at 49, the winding drums 50 to which the ends of cables are secured. Thus, in every instance where the hoisting cables have been bent or wrapped around a sheave or a winding drum, the direction of bend has been the same at all times.

Suitable counterweights are provided for the winding drums. Such counterweights are shown at 51 as being supported by cables 55, which are likewise secured to the respective drums 50. The cables 55 pass over sheaves 56 which are carried by the superstructure, while the counterweights 51 slide in suitable guideways 59 on the frame. The arrangement of these counterweight cables is likewise such that they are wrapped around the drums 50 in the same direction in which they are wrapped around the sheaves 56.

The clamping cables 6| are likewise arranged in such a manner that they are always wrapped or turned around each of their sheaves in the same direction. As shown in Fig. 2, each clamping cable is secured to the cradle at 62 and is passed upwardly between a pair of guide sheaves 65 which are carried by a clamping arm 25, and over sheaves 59 which are mounted in the frame. Each cable is thus wrapped around its sheaves in a clockwise direction and is extended and attached to suitable counterweights 58, which are slidably arranged in guideways on the frame.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have so arranged the cable mechanism including the various sheaves that each of the cables always turns in the same direction around each of the sheaves or winding drums around which such cable passes. Thus, the direction of bend of the respective cables is never reversed during the operation of the car dumper.

I claim:

1. In a car dumper, the combination with a frame of a car supporting cradle movable vertically therein, and adapted to be tilted at the upper limit of vertical movement, said cradle having a pair of sheaves adjacent each end thereof, all of the sheaves being disposed in planes extending transversely of the cradle, additional sheaves carried by the frame and also lying in planes that extend transversely of the cradle, two hoisting cables, each having one end anchored to the frame and each passing around sheaves on the cradle and frame, so as to suspend the cradle in two loops at each end thereof, a drum for each cable, each cable being looped around one of the drums, and thence over a sheave on the frame, a counterweight attached to the free end of each cable, each cable being unidirectionally looped around the sheaves and drum whereby the cable is free from reverse bends.

2. In a car dumper, the combination with a frame, a car supporting cradle mounted for vertical movement within the frame and for tilting movement at the upper end of the vertical movement, two hoisting cables, a pair of sheaves supported by the cradle adjacent each end thereof, additional sheaves carried by the frame above the cradle sheaves, two hoisting drums, two cables, each having one end thereof anchored to the frame and each extending downwardly in a loop around one of the cradle sheaves, thence upwardly around a frame sheave, thence downwardly around another frame sheave and around another cradle sheave, thence upwardly around a frame sheave, thence downwardly around a hoisting drum, and thence upwardly around a frame sheave, and a counterweight attached to the free end of each cable, all of the bends of the cable around the various sheaves being in the same direction.

3. In a car dumper, the combination with a frame of a car supporting cradle movably mounted thereon for vertical and tilting movement, two hoisting cables at opposite ends of the cradle, two sets of sheaves, some of which are carried by the cradle and some by the frame, there being one set for each cable, a hoisting drum for each cable, one end of each cable being anchored to the frame and the other end having a counterweight attached thereto, the sheaves of each set lying in a plane extending transversely of the cradle, and each cable being reeved over the sheaves in the same direction, whereby reverse bends are avoided, and the cradle sheaves being disposed adjacent the front and rear portions of the cradle whereby each end of the cradle is suspended in two loops, and whereby the load distribution is equalized on the cradle sheaves during the vertical movement of the 50 cradle.

ROBERT W. KALTENBACH. 

